I woke up this morning and bundled up. Andrei, Joe and I were heading
out to sample a snow pit at the drill site. We know it would be a cold
day in the pit with lots of wind. Additionally we would be 12.2 km
from camp with only a tent for shelter.

Since I know I would be standing around in the cold all day, I made sure
to wear lots of layers. Today I wore on my legs one pair thin long
underwear, one pair thick long under wear, fleece pants and wind
breaker pants. On top I wore two thin long under wear tops, one thick
long underwear top, a light down jacket and a big down jacket with
hood. On
my head I had a hat, neck gator and goggles with nose protector. I
also wore 2 pairs of gloves and lots of sunscreen. All of this kept
me warm for the day. It takes me 15 minutes just to put on all of
my clothes in the morning. The layers keep me very warm since they
trap air.

Josh and Brian drove us out to the site in the Pisten Bully. It was
a bit of a bumpy ride becuse of the sastrugi, wind blown dunes
of snow. When we arrived at the site, the pit
dug the day before was covered with plywood. The snow pit allows
us to sample from the top 2 meters of snow. Below 2 meters the
snow is firm enough that a core is drilled to provide the samples.

Joe and Andrei took the first shift in the pit. They put on clean
lab type suites, called Tyvex coveralls, plastic gloves and masks. This
gear protects the snow samples from being contaminated by our clothing and
breath. Snow samples are taken every 1 cm in the pit and put into
plastic bags. The bags are labeled and kept frozen until they are
transported back to labs at the University of Maine and University of Washington. Maine
will analyze the samples for chemistry and Washington for isotopes.

We did three sampling shifts during the day. Two people would be
in the pit while the third was in the tent staying warm and labeling the
samples. In the afternoon the wind started to pick up. We were
glad when Brian and Josh picked us up in the evening.

The trip back was exciting. The wind and blowing snow made the pisten
bully’s windshield frost up. Brain and Josh keep getting out
to wipe of the windshield. They had placed flags along our route to
distinguish it from the vast snowy whiteness and keep us from getting lost. The
flags were difficult to see, as the conditions got worse. The storm
continued into the evening. Chances are the flights will not
be able to come in again tomorrow if this weather continues. We can
barely see the other buildings in camp.